Willoughby Nature Reserve

Male Eastern bluebird. Photo by Robert McCaw.

The yipping calls of coyotes sometimes punctuate an evening's walk through the Willoughby Nature Reserve, a 48-hectare property tucked into the beautiful Caledon Hills. This nature reserve was generously donated to the Federation by the late Nordica Willougby.

Two branches of Silver Creek, a tributary of the Credit River, have carved valleys into the reserve's undulating landscape. The surrounding Caledon Hills actually form part of the western end of the Oak Ridges Moraine - that enormous legacy of the last glaciation.

Blanketing more than half of this rolling land is a mature forest of mixed hardwoods and softwoods. Little cutting appears to have occurred in these woods for close to two centuries. Beautiful displays of ephemeral spring flowers dot the forest floor. During the 1960s, much of the northeastern portion of the property, which had been cleared for farm fields, was replanted with White, Red and Scot's pine as well as White Spruce, which are now quite tall.

The animal and plant life found on the reserve is representative of the region and, for an area so close to Toronto, remarkably undisturbed. Resident species include White-tailed Deer, Coyotes, Great-horned Owls, Pileated Woodpeckers, and Eastern bluebirds. Much of the reserve is recognized as a significant natural area in the Niagara Escarpment Plan, which helps to protect the forest cover and natural landscape.

Forks of the Credit Provincial Park, as well as Glen Haffy, Palgrave and Albion Hills Conservation Areas, are all nearby.

How to get there

The reserve is located 5 kilometres south of Caledon Village. From Hwy. 10, take the Grange Sideroad northeast to Kennedy Road. On Kennedy Road, make a left turn. The property, on the west side of Kennedy Road, will be recognizable by the coniferous plantations along the fence and a Federation nature reserve sign. The property can be explored via the plantation areas on the eastern boundary. No formal trails exist. The houses near Hwy. 10 are occupied; please respect the residents' privacy.